The Garden of Eden

There is more 

Very few travel to Axum by road because it cannot be reached in one day.  Buses do not  ply at night and it is just right because the landscape to Axum from the Amhara region is not to be missed.

Look like the Great Pyramids

At the Woldia terminal while waiting for the bus to leave for an overnight in Makele, I called a Filipino VSO volunteer assigned in the area  to meet him for the first time.

Till the last goat is down; then bus leaves

The famous badjas; not found in Uganda

Five minutes later,  I saw a farengi alight from the badjas, and I was tempted to say, “Dr.  Livingstone, I supposed”.  It was such a pleasant albeit spontaneous and brief reunion.  

Good vibes grass.  In buses, too!

Traversing the well-maintained road to Axum was like going up to heaven. The hills gave different views as we navigate the  zigzag road.  The sight was awesome,  like seeing the pyramids in Egypt, jutting out of the desert.   It was breathtaking.

The hills take on different views

The long and winding road to heaven

If God placed the perfectly-baked man (olive-colored skin) in Ethiopia,  then He must have created this  garden that is beautiful in the rainy season. My eyes were never satisfied with seeing.

Same hills, different view

Cactus plants line the road and the cactus fruits are aplenty.  I tried eating the fruit which tastes and looks like a big red kiwi.  It was delicious and I finished a basketful during that long trip. 

Cactus plants with fruits

The edible cactus fruit 

Some parts of the Tigray region are barren and suffering from drought.  I understand that there is famine in the area.  According to the grapevine,   there is some kind of weeds that destroy vegetation and pasture land…. and these are believed to have sprouted together with the  seeds that were sown as part of some international food aid programs. 

The barren part of Tigray region

Animals show sign of starvation

On to Axum, the thriving capital of Ethiopia at the time that Jesus was preaching in Palestine. 

Wondering where to spend the night

God sent me an angel

Notice that Ethiopia's official date is 8 years behind current date.

A young man was referred to me by my hotel to assist me get a bus to Bahir Dar.  He said he could arrange for a hotel pick-up at very early in the morning but he offered me his services.    He will

One of them was my guide

go  with me as a guide and I pay for his fare, hotel accommodations and food.  That sounded like a good deal so I took him along.  His name is Dude, 23 years old, carries a tourism ID and a self-confessed ex-addict of all sorts.

Beautiful tree-lined street of Bahir Dar

Bahir Dar is a beautiful town, a government center being the seat of the Amhara region, and a launching pad for tourists who visit Lake Tana, the biggest lake in Ethiopia known for its islands and ancient monasteries.  In Ethiopia, as in some parts in Uganda, the bus fare is different for locals and

Bahir Dar

farengis (foreigners), and this goes for hotel accommodations, too.  The difference could be more than double.  Well, my guide had proved to be helpful because he would tell the driver that he is the one paying for my fare, so I get the local price.  But the script did not work for hotel rooms.  For the same type of room, I pay more than twice as much as what they charge my guide.

Lobby of the hotel where I pay as a farengi

 In one of the towns that we passed during the 6 hours trip, the driver stopped the bus and had an argument with some passengers.  I was told that 5 passengers did not have enough fare money to complete the trip so the driver would not take them any farther.  I told the guide to tell the

A Lake Tana sampler

 driver and passengers that I will pay for the difference.  That said,  we continued our trip.  I learned later that the 5 passengers were Ethiopians who lost their jobs in Sudan as soya bean pickers and had barely enough money to reach home.

They said thank you with a smile

 When they arrived at their destination, they thanked me profusely in their broken English.

I felt sad seeing them walk home and happy that I was able to reunite them with their families.

Walking home to their families